Centralia resident and prominent community volunteer Richard Conklin will serve 34 months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges related to child sexual abuse material.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge Paul Strophy sentenced the 67-year-old to the 34-month prison sentence — along with 36 months of mandatory community custody and a $2,000 fine — during a sentencing hearing at the Lewis County Law and Justice Center Wednesday afternoon.
The sentence from Strophy matched a recommendation from Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Will Halstead on behalf of the state in the opening minutes of Wednesday's hearing.
Conklin, represented by his attorney, Albert Didcock, also agreed to the recommended sentence.
“This is an agreed recommendation. We’re asking the court to follow it,” Didcock said. “Mr. Conklin did take responsibility quickly in this case by entering a plea of guilty. I think this resolution is consistent with other resolutions that occur before this court.”
The two charges against Conklin each have a maximum prison sentence of up to 10 years. He will serve the 34 months, which Strophy later referred to as on the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
Conklin was taken into state custody directly from the courtroom after the conclusion of the hearing.
Conklin initially appeared in the courtroom out of custody after posting bail following his preliminary hearing in early June. Before his final sentencing, Conklin stood before Strophy and the rest of the courtroom and made a plea for a lighter sentence that would allow him to “be home.”
With his final statement, Conklin asserted that he was taking ownership of his actions in hopes of fixing things and added that he did not believe his actions deserved the prison sentence he faced.
“I didn’t hurt anyone,” he said.
He went on to add that he faced the loss of significant parts of his life due to the charges and sentence, including personal relationships and likely his house, which his attorney earlier said he would likely have to sell without being able to work to pay his mortgage.
“I made a mistake. I admit to it. I apologized to the court, to my family, to my support people for what I've done. I take ownership of it,” Conklin said. “I need to be home so I can continue my life. I can't afford to lose things. I'm losing my house.”
Finally, he said he did not believe that he would get the help and counseling he needs while in prison, stating that he had enrolled in counseling through a nearby church program since facing the two charges related to child sexual abuse material.
Strophy briefly responded to Conklin's statements. He said he believed Conklin to be truly remorseful over his actions, but he also corrected Conklin's declaration that he hadn’t hurt anyone.
“Just because you haven't directly physically touched or harmed someone, it doesn't mean that your actions haven't caused harm to society and to the children that are involved in these types of trafficking,” Strophy said.
Strophy added that with the nature of the plea bargain between the defense and the prosecution, and the sentence coming in at the bottom of the possible range, he had no power to reduce the sentence with a guilty plea.
Conklin has been a longtime community volunteer in the area with connections back to the effort to construct the Twin Cities Skate Park and efforts related to the Spring Youth Fair and National Night Out. He was awarded the first ever Lee Coumbs Opportunity Seized Award in 2025.
The award honors the late Centralia mayor and Spring Youth Fair co-founder who died in 2024.
According to previous reporting by The Chronicle, Conklin was first arrested on Thursday, June 4, following an investigation by the Centralia Police Department, which received reports that Conklin possessed child sex abuse material.
A probable cause affidavit filed ahead of Conklin's preliminary hearing alleged that employees of Comp-Prime Computers discovered the materials on Conklin’s laptop when it was brought in for maintenance and reported them to the local department.
The affidavit further adds that Conklin originally told investigating officers that he did not intentionally download the materials before eventually confessing to viewing the material intentionally.
For previous reporting by The Chronicle on the case, visit https://tinyurl.com/mvdb74wm.
